Marlins Let Veteran Reliever Walk in Free Agency

The Miami Marlins chose not to fortify their major league bullpen, instead letting a veteran in AAA choose free agency

MLB veteran Mychal Givens, seen here with the Baltimore Orioles in 2023, has opted for free agency after the Miami Marlins declined to elevate him to the MLB roster. / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Marlins just got a little bit thinner in the bullpen. 

Mid-March free agent signing Mychal Givens, 33, has used the opt-out clause in his contract and is now a free agent. 

Many MLB free agents have the ability to negotiate an opt-out clause in their contract if they’re not elevated to the MLB roster by a certain date. When that clause is activated, the team has the ability to either make a roster move and put the player on the MLB 26-man roster or grant them their release, which is the path Miami took here. 

This same situation played out earlier in spring with veteran catcher Curt Casali. After going 1-17 in Grapefruit League action and being released by Miami when he triggered his opt-out clause, he signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs and is currently batting .352/.446/.519 for their AAA affiliate, the Iowa Cubs. By contrast, Miami’s major league catchers are batting a combined .090/.113/.110 this season with more strikeouts (17) than hits (9). 

For Givens, the reliever signed late enough in March that he only got into two spring training games before camp broke and he was assigned to AAA Jacksonville. Over his first nine games for Jacksonville, covering 11.1 innings, he’s allowed ten runs on thirteen hits, striking out thirteen and walking five. Don’t allow one bad outing to fool you, though - after his first outing, where he allowed five runs in 1.1 innings, he’s allowed only five runs in ten innings, good for an ERA of 4.50. 

But prior to his injury-marred 2023, where Givens got only four innings for the Baltimore Orioles while dealing with shoulder and knee issues, he’s been a reliable Major League reliever. Over portions of nine seasons, he holds a career 3.47 ERA with 31 saves. Primarily working as a middle reliever in Baltimore, he worked his way into higher leverage opportunities through his seven years with the team and has since spent time with the Colorado Rockies, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, and Cincinnati Reds on a series of one-year deals.